


Sleeping at Night

by Ninj



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Implied Character Death, Multi, including the force awakens, spoilers for all movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9619841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninj/pseuds/Ninj
Summary: Leia turns to them time and again throughout her life. She loves them both, and it gets her through.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Wavesinger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Wavesinger/gifts).



Leia watches the Falcon make the jump to hyperspace, and lets exhaustion wash over her for the first time. She sways and Luke steadies her. Silently, Leia leads them to her quarters. Luke had his own bunk assigned to him, but she admits to herself that she doesn’t want to be alone. The war has felt like brief moments of intense personal tragedy interspersed with a desperate need to survive, to stop the next big thing. The Rebellion may be holding ground, but Leia feels like she’s losing it. The door closes, and Leia heads straight to the refresher. 

“Leia,” Luke starts to speak as she exits, but she cuts him off with a gesture of her hand. She can’t talk about this now. Luke, subdued himself since being released from medical heads into the refresher without comment. 

“Stay tonight?” Leia asks as he exits.They climb into the bed together, and Leia can’t decide who is clinging more to the other. 

“Sleep Leia,” Luke whispers softly. “We’ll get him back.”

Leia slept. It was restful, and when she awoke her legs were tangled with Luke’s and she felt ready. Ready for the next step.

***

The three of them are reunited on Endor after the battle is over. So much has changed, and so little. These circumstances are much better than the first time Leia grabbed Luke’s hand, and this time she grabs them both. Han hesitates a little as she leads them into the hut the Ewoks have given her to sleep in.

“Isn’t this going to upset some people?” Han asks as the door flap closes behind them.

“Don’t think,” Leia suggested somehow managing not to sound too sharp. “We all survived. We love you. You love us. Just, don’t think.”

“Don’t think?” Luke questions. It’s fair she’d been yelling at him about not thinking when she heard about what he did on the Death Star.

“Also I don’t care what people say,” Leia reminds them as she shrugs off her jacket. She’s sore all over. 

Leia needs this, and more than that she wants this. It’s a bad idea for a dozen reasons, but she doesn’t care. They have won this war, and they have survived. Most are not that lucky, and she is going to sleep in the arms of victory. 

They wake tangled together, and it’s the start of something that continues. Not always, but whenever they need each other they sleep together.

***

Leia can still smell the smoke, because so far she’s resisted tears. She looks away from the bodies laid out prepared to be sent to family. Their son had done this. Their son was a killer. Han stood behind her silent, but horrified.

“Leia,” Han sounds so lost as he looks at the bodies. As he looks at Luke standing alone across the plaza. 

Leia pulls her spine straight, they’ve got an audience. “We’ve got to talk to Luke.”

“He’s going to do something stupid isn’t he?” Han sighs. They stride across the plaza suddenly with purpose. Luke, although he’s standing in an open plaza looks cornered.

“Come with us,” Leia commands. Instead of going into the halls of the temple, they lead him to the Falcon. 

Once on board the Falcon with the ramp sealed, they let their acts fall. Luke looks haunted in a way Leia has never seen. Han looks bewildered and angry. Leia just feels empty. She’s pretty sure they all feel too old for this.

“What comes next?” Han looks to Leia. She’s in charge. They all know she’s in charge.

“Nothing good,” Leia answers starting to pull pins out of her hair. She can see the path leading outwards, and it’s not good. None of it is good. 

“I didn’t know how to stop him,” Luke says softly. “I couldn’t save him.” 

“None of us could,” Leia refuses to let her brother shoulder all the blame. She finishes shaking out her hair. “We’re sleeping now. We’ll find a solution in the morning.”

They have to. Right now the future looks grim, and Leia can’t see a way out of the situation, but everything will look better with rest on the side. If they’re going into this battle first, they need to take one less refuge. 

They sleep that night, tangled up together. The force is uneasy and it’s probably the least restful night of sleep together they’ve ever gotten. It’s the last time they sleep together. By the end of the week Luke has gone, and Han follows shortly after. The three of them never see each other again.


End file.
